Your friends hold the lullabies
by forensicirulan
Summary: The Team tries to surprise Sam with something, but it doesn't quite turn out the way it was supposed to... or does it? Shameless fluff to follow.


„So this is where you run away when you get, um… overwhelmed?"

Sam shifted from her lying position to see her CO tower over her, left hand wandering casually in his silver hair to cover his embarrassment.

Too tired and pissed off to care about military protocol, she remained still on the ground, drawing her knees up and entwining her fingers around them, her porcelain skin in contrast with her blue uniform like the furious waves against the ocean. Turning her head towards the night sky, she started "Overwhelmed by what?"

Jack leaned forward, lowering himself on both hands he took the opportunity to take place on the ground beside her. "Saving the world as we know it. Fiddling around with… whatever you fiddle around with in that lab of yours that I can't wrap my mind around. Other… things?" He asked, turning his tone questioning as he saw the corners of her mouth twitch from anger. He glanced at his watch in fear. Just a few more minutes, he just has to hold her up for a few more minutes.

"Carter, listen up –"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT MY BIRTHDAY!" She burst out, her hands flying on the ground, fisting a handful of earth.

_Shit_.

"It's not that I want a party or a cake or anyone's lame jokes about getting older but still looking hot –" Jack's mouth opened to protest, but Sam continued "do you seriously think I'm _deaf_? I have ears and I can see, sir, and I've had my fair share of being treated like the Stargate Barbie, but you, I thought after having worked together for seven years you would at least fit in a small 'Happy Birthday!'" He glimpsed at his watch with widened eyes. "Not that you have any grasp on manners, but I thought at least Teal'c or Daniel would remember, and it seems like you all forgot, wonderful people I work with, right?" Jack continued staring at her and stealing glances at his watch.

Sam caught those peeks and snorted, eyes piercing. "Don't worry, I've finished. In fact, we are finished. You can go now." She said, and the light of the evening stars and the moon reflecting in her blue eyes, leaving Jack thinking that she's really cute when angry.

"It's not quite like that, Carter."

Sam started rubbing her hands together to clean it from the dirt and drew the corners of her mouth up in an ironic but amused smile. "Really? Which part is not quite like that, exactly? Where I said I have ears or where I mentioned how wonderful you all are?"

"I wish you women weren't so impatient!" he said, but immediately regretted it as she glared back at him in complete fury.

_Shit_.

"Who do you _dare_?!" she shouted at him "When you know… for _all_ these years… my God!" she continued the shouting, angry tears filling her eyes.

"Carter, this isn't abou –" he started to protest but couldn't finish, as her hands started the heavy drubbing of his shoulders and extruded all air from his lungs. Jack had to remind himself that she ranked rather well in hand-to-hand combat. "You bastard!" Any of his attempts to stop her hands from rearranging his hair and outfit with their intense hits flew out the window when she started fighting him with uncontrollable sorrow and rage, the harm visible on her cheeks as tears ran down along her jaw. "You fucking bastard!"

"Carter, stop!" he shouted back, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation, but she continued the beating until her flat palm made contact with his face, resulting in a huge clashing noise and a red mark on his cheek. This has seriously got to stop. Jack gathered all his strength and finally being able to grab her hands, pushed Sam on the ground, holding her down with his height and pressing of shoulders.

"For cryin' out loud, Major, stop this right now!" He yelled firmly. "Don't make me have you court-martialled!"

At that instant, his watch started beeping, and they both froze at the sound. First staring at the watch then at each other, Jack started speaking again "Look up at the sky, will ya'?" He loosened his grasp on her hands and shifted so they both could see what was going on.

Sam's vision was blurry from the salty liquid in her eyes, all she could see were curlicued lines up in the sky, much like a thousand falling stars trailing the atmosphere. After a dozen or so blinks, her vision cleared and she could finally make out the signs that, once she could finish reading, made her vision hazy again.

_Happy Birthday, Carter! There's talk of cake… (Jack's idea)_

She laid there in awe of what just happened, hands falling on the cold ground in defeat, not knowing whether the salty rain on her skin was from the happiness or the humiliation of the skies.

Jack hovered over her for a moment, exploring her face, before he pushed up on his knees and sat down beside her, and shortly afterwards, Sam did the same. They were sitting there under the deep blue sky and its stars that danced around the birthday wish with a wavering light, just staring for minutes before he dared to speak.

"So… do you like it?" he asked, the slightest bit of a sad smile forming on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Sir." She whispered, afraid to speak louder after what just happened.

"It's fine."

"No, it's really, really not. I… oh my God, I was dis… disrespectful against my commanding officer…and… and then I verbally and physically abused him and basically, I mean, if, if you launched me to the Moon without any sort of food or water supply, that would be understandable. Go-od, even." She stuttered.

"I said it was _fine_. I should be the one to say I'm sorry. We didn't mean to make you so upset." He smiled at her, then, realizing she didn't ease, he put his arms around her shoulder. "So?"

"Huhm?" she sniffled, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"So, do you like it?" he asked, while giving a gentle squeeze to her shoulder.

She looked up at her so dear night sky and drank in the image of her present once more, before repeating "Yes, sir. It's beautiful."

"I hoped you'd like it." She glanced at him slightly surprised. "Not… that I spent a long time thinking how you'd feel, I have a lot of… business to attend to, people to… general."

"You just made a verb from a noun." She giggled a little.

"Carter!" he nudged her, and then they both smiled up the sky. She tilted her head on his shoulder absent-mindedly, before asking "What technology did you say it was, again?"

"I didn't say. But, now that you mentioned it, Thor sends his best wishes." He gestured with his right hand into the sky. They spent the next minute in silence, which, instead of behaving true to its designation, was filled with her shaky sighs against his chest and his gentle snuffing in her hair and the sound of a uniform-covered arm brushing against a uniform-covered back.

His clearing of throat broke their silence, soon followed by his words. "How 'bout checking on that cake?" she looked up at him with hazy eyes "Did I… wake you?"

She smiled fuzzily. "I just, um… dozed of a little. Long day. Crying like a little bitch is tiring."

"Don't forget how exhausting abusing your superior is." He snorted into her hair, and her body went stiff in his hands. "Relax, just joking." He patted his shoulder. "Though… I was serious about the cake."

"Yeah… cake would be good."


End file.
